New Research Shows That Video Games Can Help With Multi-Tasking

"Research" and "studies" concerning video games is like opening up a bag of candy with worms in it...sometimes you get something sweet but other times you end up with something slimy and gross. It's a lot like going on a blind date.

Anyways, the latest bit of research comes courtesy of New York's University of Rochester, where according to Fox News, the study rendered some interesting results mainly in terms of reaction times and decision making abilities without sacrificing accuracy. In fact, the brief study concluded (for now) on a positive note indicating that gamers can make decisions 25 percent faster than the average person while maintaining said accuracy.

Dr. Kevin Everhart PhD, with the University of Colorado Denver also confers some semblance of agreement with the findings, saying...

“It’s that concentrated emotional intensity related to making quick decisions and weighing probabilities."... "Should I do this or should I do that? And if you do that over and over again, we do see some impact,”...“It appears to have some benefit- MAYBE,”

Uh oh, what's that I see? Some hint at acknowledging the pros of gaming? Well shoot my monkey and call me Pat, but are researchers finally starting to acquiesce that video games could potentially help you in same way in life? Not likely.

According to Fox, Dr. Everhart feels the research is inconclusive and that more research is needed. He also feels that kids should not game for more than half an hour to an hour a day.

What's more, though, is that the findings actually tie into previous studies by Florida State University, indicating that gamer reaction times are increased from violent or action-oriented games, although it comes at the cost of potentially developing ADD due to the same requirements of being intensely focused while multitasking, so says the reports from Dr. Kira Bailey from Iowa State University.

It also seems to be a precursor for the vastly hyperbolic scenario put forth by Baroness Greenfield, the former director of the Royal Institution, who actually believes that too much gaming will literally blow your mind.

Like all research-hungry gamers out there, I'm quite curious to know what Doc Everhart and crew find out with a little extra digging regarding gaming and decision making.